


So Take a Chance with Me

by catbel



Category: Great Pretender (Anime)
Genre: Cuddling, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Massage, Misunderstandings, Overhearing Sex, Sharing a Bed, but not really, oblivious Makoto
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:40:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26482060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catbel/pseuds/catbel
Summary: When Makoto has an accident, resulting in a minor injury, he did not foresee the day ending with Laurent confessing he likes him.
Relationships: Edamura Makoto/Laurent Thierry
Comments: 31
Kudos: 487





	So Take a Chance with Me

Makoto laid in the plush hotel bed, his foot propped up with a pillow with a bag of ice on his ankle. In all his years of running away on jobs he’d never seriously hurt himself before. Of course, he’d managed to twist his ankle just walking down the sidewalk. A low hiss escaped his clenched teeth as he shifted to make himself more comfortable. His back felt as if he were lying on a bed of needles. Thankfully, nothing was broken. With a few days rest and staying away from strenuous activity Makoto would be fine. 

The hotel door opened and closed with a click, Laurent sauntering into the room with a vase of flowers and supplies from the nearby drugstore. “Still pouting?” 

Makoto glared at the confidence man. He wouldn’t dare admit the fall had been due to his carelessness. Moments before Makoto slipped Cynthia had even warned everyone it was slick. 

“The girls went to go get ramen." said Laurent as he placed the vase of flowers on the nightstand and began to unpack his shopping bag. Bandages, painkillers, heat packs, and what looked to be like an ankle brace. Laurent had gone all out in Makoto’s opinion.

“Why the flowers?” 

“To cheer you up.” Laurent answered sincerely. “I offered to kiss it better and you threw a fit. I figured flowers would brighten up the room some.” 

Makoto turned his head to get a better look at the bouquet. He didn’t know much about the mix of yellow, orange and pink flowers besides that they looked nice. If he had to guess they were carnations mixed with some sort of daisy and baby’s breath for an accent. Makoto knew roses meant love and others were reserved for more somber occasions. His stomach clenched, briefly reminded of the times he sat by his mother's side at the hospital. Flowers were expensive and didn’t last long. It’s why he had started seeking out capsule toys she would like instead. 

“You still with me Edamame?” Laurent waved his hand in front of the brunette’s face. The blond held two pills in his palm, waiting for Makoto to take them. 

Begrudgingly, Makoto snatched the pills from Laurent’s hand and swallowed them dry; bitterness lingering on his tongue. Laurent was midway to handing Makoto a glass of water and set the drink back on the nightstand. 

"You seem tense.” Laurent moved to sit at the edge of the bed. “How about I rub your shoulders? I know it’s not a foot massage, but I doubt you want me going anywhere near your ankle right now.” 

“So I can owe you later? No thanks.” Makoto huffed. In general Makoto didn’t like to be in anyone’s debt. He lived a frugal lifestyle, despite being able to afford a nicer apartment and other luxury items. Even before going to jail, Makoto hadn’t been the type to spend his money as if it burned a hole in his pocket. He’d been his mother’s main support system since his school days and the habit to budget had stuck with him into adulthood. 

Laurent clasped his hand onto Makoto’s shoulder. “No strings attached. I can tell how you’re sitting, your arm and shoulder are bothering you. You poor thing! Let me take care of you.”

Makoto didn’t want to admit Laurent was right. The shoulder he had landed on was throbbing and his neck felt stiff. A hot bath would help ease the pain, but there was the matter of him needing help getting in and out of the bathtub. No way was he going to ask anyone to help him, even if he kept his boxers on it was too embarrassing to show that level of vulnerability to his teammates. 

“I see you’re considering it.” Laurent slowly ran his hand down Makoto’s arm. “No one has to know. I’ve been told I have magic hands.” The blond waved his fingers in the air, a nonchalant smile spread across his face. 

“Fine.” Makoto sighed. “But hands above the waist and no funny business.” 

“Aw, you’re no fun!” Laurent whined playfully. “Move over a bit and turn your back to me.”

Makoto did as requested, allowing Laurent to slide beside him on the bed. The bed dipped as Laurent maneuvered himself to sit with his legs crossed behind Makoto. “It’ll feel better if you take your shirt off.” 

“Not happening!” Makoto snapped, crossing his arms over his chest in case Laurent tried to pull his shirt off. 

Laurent chuckled. “You know I’m starting to think you really are a virgin.”

Makoto opened his mouth, ready to unleash his usual tirade of how he was not a virgin when Laurent’s hands started to slowly rub his shoulders. The words died in this throat and his arms slowly lowered themselves to his lap. Loathe to admit it, Makoto felt the tension leaving his body and leaned back into Laurent’s touch. 

“This may hurt at first, but I promise it’ll feel good.” Makoto wanted to ask why it would hurt when he felt Laurent’s thumbs dig into a knot in his shoulder. An involuntary gasp fell from Makoto’s lips, followed by a sigh of relief. It was like all the tensity was being drained from his body. 

Makoto hummed in pleasure, Laurent’s breathy chuckle ghosting over the nape of his neck. “You make the cutest noises my little soybean.” A shiver ran through Makoto’s body and he hoped Laurent had not noticed. 

“Less talking, more-" Laurent found another knot of muscle drawing out a groan from Makoto. “There! Do it harder.”

“You didn’t strike me as someone who likes it rough.” Laurent replied, clearly amused by Makoto’s reactions. 

A thud at the door made Makoto jump. “What was that?” He looked over his shoulder to see Laurent confused as well. 

The blond got up from the bed and opened the room door. Cynthia had her ear pressed to where the door had been closed while Abbie sat on the floor eating gyoza from a take out container. 

“I gave you a key, why didn’t you just come in?” Laurent asked, genuinely curious. 

“O-Oh, well you see we thought maybe you two wanted to be alone for a bit." Cynthia stammered, her face flushed. 

Abbie stood up and pushed her way into the room, setting the bag of food on the desk nearby. “We thought you two were fucking. I’m hungry.” she said through a mouthful of food. 

Makoto’s face turned bright red while Laurent doubled over with laughter. 

“Sorry to report it was just a shoulder massage. No happy endings tonight. Unless, you changed your mind?” Laurent turned to Makoto and winked. 

“No!” Makoto screamed, grabbing the nearest pillow and throwing it at Laurent. The confidence man managed to sidestep the pillow, irritating Makoto even more. 

“I dunno, you sounded pretty into it Edamame.” Cynthia smirked. “Are those flowers I see? Romantic as ever, Laurent.” 

Makoto opened his mouth, ready to rant about how he was a grown man who didn’t need flowers when Abbie appeared before him and shoved a gyoza into his mouth. 

“Shut up and eat before it gets cold. I got your favorite flavor.” She put the bowl near Makoto, already mixing the noodles and other ingredients into the broth for him. 

Dinner was a quiet affair. Everyone was too busy slurping their noodles to further tease Makoto. Even though Laurent’s hands had long left his body, Makoto could feel a phantom tingle from where Laurent had touched him. At the moment, Makoto scooped up a larger serving of noodles with his chopsticks and eagerly ate them. No way was he considering asking Laurent for another massage. 

His mind kept wandering back to the hands on his back. Laurent had mentioned how it would feel better if Makoto took his shirt off and he couldn’t help but feel curious. 

“Edamame you’re so spoiled!” Cynthia slurred, having cracked open a bottle of sake to go with her ramen. “Laurent has never given me a massage.” 

“He likes him.” Abbie deadpanned. “It’s why we thought you two finally decided to have sex. Just get it over with. It’s annoying watching you both dance around each other.” 

“We are eating!” Makoto screamed, refusing to look up from his bowl. The last thing he needed was for them all to see he was blushing. “Besides we all know Laurent flirts with everyone.” 

“I won’t deny that, but I actually do like you.” Laurent admitted. 

Makoto must have misheard. “You like me?” 

Laurent hummed in reply. “I thought it was obvious. I’ve taken you on several dates.” 

“What?” Makoto didn’t recall ever going on a date with Laurent. “No you haven’t.” 

“He took you out for ice cream and then you walked in the park together.” Cynthia chimed in, her fingers nimbly moving her chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat out of her bowl. 

“Yeah and that one time Laurent watched that awful movie you like and even let you rant about it over coffee after.” Abbie added after she finished slurping up a large mouthful of noodles. 

Those were dates? Those were dates! Makoto realized, completely mortified. How could he have been so oblivious? 

“And just last week we rented a paddle boat to take out on the lake. I thought that one was obvious. We were surrounded by happy couples.” Laurent replied while idling stirring the broth around. 

Makoto wanted to crawl under the covers and die. He couldn’t even leave the bed with how messed up his ankle was. The others talked amongst themselves as they finished eating. Abbie and Cynthia left to go get ready for bed, leaving Makoto and Laurent alone. 

“Laurent?” Makoto called when the blonde turned to leave. “I might need help in the middle of the night or in the morning. Can you stay with me?” 

Laurent blinked, clearly taken aback by the sudden request. “As in?” 

“I’ll share my bed with you, but you better stay on your side!” Makoto huffed. “And...if you wanted to watch a movie you can pick this time, but not one of those weird artsy French movies!” 

Laurent’s eyes lit up. “You’re sure?” 

“Don’t make me repeat myself you dumb, blond asshole.” muttered Makoto without any bite. He feigned annoyance as Laurent made himself comfortable on the bed next to him. After they were both settled, Makoto leaned over and rested his head on Laurent’s shoulder. If anyone asked, he would blame his sudden display of affection on the pain pills.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my second fic for GrePre Week. The first one was an AU I posted early since my schedule changes so quickly and keeps me from posting. I decided to do a mix of hurt/comfort and cuddling. Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for reading! I will probably be taking a break from writing Great Pretender until the worldwide release of the last episodes. Comments and kudos are appreciated! My Tumblr is catbelwrites.


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